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Woops. Slept late yesterday and just didn’t have time to write a post - and there are other days this week that may run short of that most precious commodity - time. We’ll just have to see if I wake up early enough to post - and if I have anything worthy or saying. Odd - I suddenly felt a wave of self consciousness about the paucity of illustrations - the outright lack of them when it comes to my own handiwork - on this blog. Not that I owe anything to the world when it comes to the blog, but I am reminded that I always wanted to have photographs of my work up and I haven’t in lo these months and months (and months). It really is time I succumb to the press of technology or at least get out the old Nikon, some sunny day, and take some old fashioned film pictures.

Sigh. Always some sort of Ought To Do lurking around the corner, reminding you to turn off the auto-pilot. Combining with a night filled with scolding dreams, these arrows are all hitting the target of my conscience.

There now - it’ll pass. And no doubt, sooner than it should.

I had lunch with B yesterday. She gave me the good news that my March 11 drop spindle class had “made” - enough students have signed up to justify paying me to teach. I’m really looking forward to teaching it. I haven’t yet been able to figure out a time table for teaching knitting this winter and half my fun with fiber play comes from teaching. In fact, I love it so much I wonder just why I haven’t set up any classes this winter. So, in true research librarian fashion, I paw through my brain for the connecting threads and realize that I am deep in learning mode myself - and that is the one time I don’t like to teach. Oh - I’m always thinking, as I learn something new, “Ahh this will be fun to teach”, but I’m not ready to actually arrange, schedule, and organize the teaching.

I’m working away on some drop spindle spinning. I love the drop spindle but I have yet to see anyone who holds the fibers quite like I do. I’ve been examining other teachers’ methods and explanations and trying to decide how much of my own unique technique I want to incorporate into the coming classes. I also realized I haven’t anything made of my handspun yarn. Everything I’ve made so far has been given away. I’m sure GD will let me use the green merino/silk scarf I gave her, but I don’t even remember where everything else is. So I’m spinning up some lovely grey corriedale roving using the beautiful spindle I bought from Stony Mt. Farms 2 years ago. I’ve about finished the second spindle full. I’ll ply them later this week and I am thinking of knitting a pair of fingerless gloves with it. I’ll have to see, of course. It’s fairly thin yarn, but spindle spinning tends to spin up much more loosely than wheel spinning (unless one is being very conscious and watchful) so it ought to be a very springy and cushy yarn. Just the thing for fingerless gloves.

I also want some samples of textured yarn spun from mohair locks, at least for this first class. It’s 3 hours long, which allows me time to introduce a lot more than basic spinning to my students. The students are all coming from a quilter’s background and I think they might like to see how to create some exotic yarns to use as embellishments on quilt blocks. Imagine couching down an exotic yarn full of curly tips rolling off the core, using silk thread you also spun yourself? Well - I know I’d start drooling over the chance to make my own fancy yarns. I bet at least some of them will too. Hmmm. In fact - I believe I will make a little sample block with decorative embroidery done with handspun. In all my abundant spare time. While I take care of the 48 foreign orphans I’ve just adopted and write the History of The World in time for publication in April, immediately after I host the party for 300 in honor of the first crocus blossoms.

I think I’ll ask B if she’d like some fancy yarns to embroider a sample quilt square.

Knitting on the first sleeve of the BSHP sweater. I have decided to ignore the sausage casing issue for the time being. I thought the sweater would be too short, too, while I was knitting it. I’m sure there are many more angst driven worries up ahead before completion. Neck opening too low. Underarm bindoffs too narrow. Oh Me of Little Faith. Zipping along, though, on the sleeve because it is so few stitches. I don’t know as I’ll be finished by March - but I bet I’ll be looking at being finished. Better go find another bag to stuff it into once I reach the last little bit. Got to let these sweaters ripen you know. Can’t just knit ‘em and wear ‘em. Nope, nope. Gotta' have oaken barrels or at least Walmart bags to age ‘em in.

What a strange mood I’m in today. Best be I log off before I expose any more of it.